At USA Today, Kevin Allen writes that it may be time for someone from the outside to pressure the NHL and NHLPA into making a deal for a new CBA.

He writes that NBC, which is still paying the NHL $200 million this season even if there is no hockey, should nudge the two sides together by reminding them “how committed they have been to giving the league first class treatment.”

He notes how the NBC Sports Network has struggled since losing hockey on their schedule and the ratings boost that the Winter Classic would give the network.